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CRYSTALYX® Sheep-Lyx® and Sheep Programs

Just over a year ago, CRYSTALYX® made some formulation and name changes with several products. Two of our small ruminant products, Sheep-lyx® and Goat-Lyx®, went through some of the largest upgrades and changes. These changes were for the good, enhancing an already good product line. CRYSTALYX® is promoted as a program based supplement, and we’ve learned over the years that the best fortified products perform the best in a wide array of nutritional programs. This is true for our small ruminant products as well.

Sheep-lyx® for Better Sheep Programs

Enter 2016-2017. The enhancements that make Sheep-lyx® fit several programs was reviewed earlier in a previous blog by my colleague, Teri Walsh. We now classify Sheep-lyx® as a premium CRYSTALYX® product that can be fed as a sheep mineral & vitamin supplement, and as a protein supplement to enhance forage utilization. The trace mineral and vitamin levels were raised to meet 100% of NRC requirements and BioPlex® forms of zinc and manganese were added. Sel-Plex®, Alltech’s proprietary selenium yeast, was also included in the formulation. This form of selenium, like the BioPlex® products, has a higher bioavailability than inorganic forms of trace minerals more commonly used.

Finally, we added Bio-Mos® at a level to provide 1.5 grams in 4 ounces of Sheep-lyx® intake. Bio-Mos®, fed to improve gut health, is a very popular additive in diets of other livestock species and has shown benefits in sheep as well. Specifically, Bio-Mos® promotes colostrum quality, supports nutrient transfer during lactation and overall performance in sheep.

I spend most of my work time focused on CRYSTALYX® programs and economics for beef cattle; those products make up the clear majority of our sales. I do however hold a special likeness for the CRYSTALYX® sheep products as my family owns a small farm flock, develop and sell club lambs, and our kids are active in showing lambs in 4-H and FFA. We supplement with and recommend Sheep-lyx® during fall breeding, pre-lambing, lambing, and post lambing nutritional programs. In the fall, our ewes are managed much like range-sheep grazing stockpiled dormant pasture. Sheep-lyx® is the “go-to” protein supplement. Fall is also breeding time and Sheep-lyx® helps maintain energy status in the ewes. This supplement strategy extends into the lambing season, even when feeding better quality forages. Sheep-lyx® serves primarily as the delivery for minerals, vitamins and Bio-Mos® during this time frame. It also aides in supplementing the energy demand that ewes have in late gestation.

Overall the changes last season greatly improved Sheep-lyx® and it was already a good product. I’ve used it for years and last season we fed Bio-Mos® for the first time pre-and post-lambing. It was the best lambing season we’d ever had considering overall lamb health; vigorous lambs, and no death loss. This season so far, we are half-way through lambing and are seeing just as good, if not better results. The weather has been a bigger challenge this year but so far, we’ve had nothing but healthy, vigorous lambs.

Again CRYSTALYX® products fit programs and provide great value. The improvements to Sheep-lyx® made a good product even better, and did so by adding only a penny to the overall cost to feed Sheep-lyx®.

CRYSTALYX®, whether feed to beef & dairy cattle or small ruminants, is fed for a purpose, one that delivers a return on your investment vs just getting by. If you have sheep, use Sheep-lyx®. Learn more at www.crystalyx.com.

Bio-Mos®, BioPlex® and Sel-Plex® are registered trademarks of Alltech.

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About the Author

Past livestock industry work experience: I have been involved in the Feed business for more than 20 years and have had great experiences across the United States and Canada. My educational experience involved supplement strategies to improve forage utilization in beef cattle, and that same discipline has carried into my Feed Industry experience. Supporting the sales and marketing of free-choice block supplements has been my main career focus working with Ridley Block Operations.

Customers in the livestock business and the feed business it supports are my career motivators. Not many people in North America devote so much time and effort to their business as do those in the livestock industry. It’s truly a way of life. I have lived and worked in rural America and the animal agriculture industry my entire life. I enjoy the process of our business; manufacturing and selling, but the most rewarding of all is to see our customers succeed in part by our efforts.